# 1988–89 Birmingham City F.C. season

The 1988–89 Football League season was Birmingham City Football Club's 86th in the Football League and their 26th in the Second Division. They finished in 23rd position in the division, expanded for this season to 24 teams as part of a restructuring process, so were relegated to the Third Division for the first time in the club's history. They entered the 1988–89 FA Cup in the third round proper and lost to Wimbledon in that round, were eliminated at the second-round stage of the League Cup by local rivals Aston Villa 7–0 over two legs, and lost in the first round of the Full Members' Cup, again to Aston Villa, this time by six goals to nil.
The top scorers in league matches were Steve Whitton and Colin Robinson with five goals apiece; Whitton scored six, if goals scored in all competitions are counted. The average attendance, of 6,289, was the lowest ever at St Andrew's.
In April 1989, Ken Wheldon sold the club to the Kumar brothers, owners of a Manchester-based fashion and leisurewear company. Dave Mackay was brought in as general manager, previous manager Garry Pendrey refused to stay on as part of Mackay's staff, and Wheldon retained a seat on the board while Samesh Kumar became chairman.

## Football League Second Division

| Date | League position | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 27 August 1988 | 22nd | Watford | A | L | 0–1 | | 12,656 |
| 3 September 1988 | 22nd | Leicester City | H | L | 2–3 | Walsh og, Robinson | 7,932 |
| 10 September 1988 | 24th | Oldham Athletic | A | L | 0–4 | | 5,810 |
| 17 September 1988 | 20th | Sunderland | H | W | 3–2 | Childs, Atkins, Robinson | 6,871 |
| 20 September 1988 | 22nd | Walsall | A | L | 0–5 | | 8,780 |
| 24 September 1988 | 23rd | Blackburn Rovers | A | L | 0–3 | | 7,562 |
| 1 October 1988 | 24th | Barnsley | H | L | 3–5 | Atkins, Robinson, Langley | 4,892 |
| 4 October 1988 | 24th | Plymouth Argyle | H | L | 0–1 | | 4,435 |
| 8 October 1988 | 22nd | AFC Bournemouth | A | W | 1–0 | Frain | 6,186 |
| 15 October 1988 | 22nd | West Bromwich Albion | H | L | 1–4 | Bremner | 10,453 |
| 22 October 1988 | 24th | Manchester City | A | D | 0–0 | | 20,205 |
| 25 October 1988 | 24th | Stoke City | H | L | 0–1 | | 6,262 |
| 29 October 1988 | 24th | Swindon Town | A | L | 1–2 | Atkins pen | 6,937 |
| 5 November 1988 | 24th | Portsmouth | H | D | 0–0 | | 5,866 |
| 12 November 1988 | 24th | Oxford United | A | L | 0–3 | | 5,600 |
| 19 November 1988 | 24th | Hull City | A | D | 1–1 | Langley | 5,134 |
| 22 November 1988 | 24th | Leeds United | H | D | 0–0 | | 6,168 |
| 26 November 1988 | 24th | Ipswich Town | H | W | 1–0 | Whitton | 5,932 |
| 3 December 1988 | 24th | Bradford City | A | D | 2–2 | Whitton, Richards | 9,503 |
| 10 December 1988 | 24th | Crystal Palace | H | L | 0–1 | | 6,523 |
| 16 December 1988 | 24th | Chelsea | H | L | 1–4 | Whitton | 7,897 |
| 26 December 1988 | 23rd | Shrewsbury Town | A | D | 0–0 | | 7,347 |
| 31 December 1988 | 23rd | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | L | 0–4 | | 9,324 |
| 2 January 1988 | 23rd | Oldham Athletic | H | D | 0–0 | | 5,998 |
| 14 January 1989 | 23rd | Leeds United | A | L | 0–1 | | 21,843 |
| 21 January 1989 | 23rd | Watford | H | L | 2–3 | Whitton 2 (1 pen) | 6,396 |
| 4 February 1989 | 23rd | Plymouth Argyle | A | W | 1–0 | Robinson | 7,721 |
| 11 February 1989 | 23rd | AFC Bournemouth | H | L | 0–1 | | 6,444 |
| 18 February 1989 | 23rd | Manchester City | H | L | 0–2 | | 11,707 |
| 25 February 1989 | 23rd | West Bromwich Albion | A | D | 0–0 | | 16,148 |
| 28 February 1989 | 24th | Stoke City | A | L | 0–1 | | 7,904 |
| 4 March 1989 | 24th | Oxford United | H | D | 0–0 | Whitton | 4,954 |
| 11 March 1989 | 24th | Portsmouth | A | L | 0–1 | | 8,110 |
| 18 March 1989 | 23rd | Walsall | H | W | 1–0 | Wigley | 6,558 |
| 25 March 1989 | 24th | Leicester City | A | L | 0–2 | | 9,464 |
| 27 March 1989 | 24th | Shrewsbury Town | H | L | 1–2 | Sturridge | 4,964 |
| 1 April 1989 | 24th | Sunderland | A | D | 2–2 | Frain, Yates | 10,927 |
| 4 April 1989 | 24th | Chelsea | A | L | 1–3 | Richards | 14,796 |
| 8 April 1989 | 24th | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | L | 1–2 | Sturridge | 4,579 |
| 15 April 1989 | 24th | Barnsley | A | D | 0–0 | | 6,464 |
| 18 April 1989 | 24th | Swindon Town | H | L | 1–2 | Peer | 4,026 |
| 22 April 1989 | 24th | Blackburn Rovers | H | W | 2–0 | Robinson, Yates | 5,813 |
| 29 April 1989 | 24th | Ipswich Town | A | L | 0–4 | | 9,998 |
| 1 May 1989 | 23rd | Bradford City | H | W | 1–0 | Frain | 4,735 |
| 6 May 1989 | 23rd | Hull City | H | W | 1–0 | Yates | 4,686 |
| 13 May 1989 | 23rd | Crystal Palace | A | L | 1–4 | Sturridge | 17,581 |

### League table (part)

Final Second Division table (part) :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 20th | Portsmouth | 46 | 13 | 12 | 21 | 53 | 62 | −9 | 51 |
| 21st | Hull City | 46 | 11 | 14 | 21 | 52 | 68 | −16 | 47 |
| 22nd | Shrewsbury Town | 46 | 8 | 18 | 20 | 40 | 67 | −27 | 42 |
| 23rd | Birmingham City | 46 | 8 | 11 | 27 | 31 | 76 | −45 | 35 |
| 24th | Walsall | 46 | 5 | 16 | 25 | 41 | 80 | −39 | 31 |

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source:

## FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| Third round | 7 January 1989 | Wimbledon | H | L | 0–1 | | 10,431 |

## League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| First round 1st leg | 30 August 1988 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | L | 2–3 | Thompson og, Bird | 11,007 |
| First round 2nd leg | 6 September 1988 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | W | 1–0 | Whitton | 8,981 |
| Second round 1st leg | 27 September 1988 | Aston Villa | H | L | 0–2 | | 21,177 |
| Second round 2nd leg | 12 October 1988 | Aston Villa | A | L | 0–5 | | 19,753 |

## Full Members' Cup

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| First round | 9 November 1988 | Aston Villa | A | L | 0–6 | | 8,324 |

## Appearances and goals

    Numbers in parentheses denote appearances made as a substitute.
    Players marked † left the club during the playing season.
    Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; DF – Defender; MF – Midfielder; FW – Forward
Players' appearances and goals by competition :
| Pos. | Nat. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Full Members' Cup | Full Members' Cup | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Nat. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | ENG | Tony Elliott † | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| GK | ENG | Tony Godden | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| GK | ENG | Roger Hansbury | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| GK | WAL | Martin Thomas | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 0 |
| DF | ENG | Kevin Ashley | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 |
| DF | ENG | Adrian Bird | 11 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 14 (1) | 1 |
| DF | ENG | Ian Clarkson | 9 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 (1) | 0 |
| DF | ENG | Matthew Fox | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| DF | ENG | Vince Overson | 41 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 0 |
| DF | ENG | Ray Ranson † | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 0 |
| DF | ENG | Brian Roberts | 41 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 46 | 0 |
| DF | ENG | John Trewick † | 10 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 (1) | 0 |
| MF | ENG | Ian Atkins | 43 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 48 | 3 |
| MF | SCO | Des Bremner | 28 (1) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 (2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 31 (3) | 1 |
| MF | ENG | Micky Burton | 0 (4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (4) | 0 |
| MF | ENG | Gary Childs | 16 (7) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 (8) | 1 |
| MF | ENG | John Frain | 28 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 3 |
| MF | ENG | Robert Hopkins | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| MF | ENG | Kevin Langley | 34 (2) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 39 (2) | 2 |
| MF | ENG | Ronnie Morris | 3 (7) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 5 (9) | 0 |
| MF | ENG | Dean Peer | 15 (2) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 (2) | 1 |
| MF | ENG | Paul Tait | 6 (4) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 (4) | 0 |
| MF | ENG | Steve Wigley † | 33 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 1 |
| MF | ENG | Mark Yates | 16 (3) | 3 | 0 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18 (4) | 3 |
| FW | ENG | Carl Richards | 18 (1) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 (1) | 2 |
| FW | ENG | Colin Robinson | 31 (2) | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 (2) | 5 |
| FW | ENG | Guy Russell † | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 |
| FW | ENG | Simon Sturridge | 13 (8) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 (9) | 3 |
| FW | ENG | Steve Whitton † | 23 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 (1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 26 (1) | 6 |